Telephone emergency response systems and methods

ABSTRACT

An emergency system includes a gateway and a database in communication with the gateway. The database comprises first routing information for establishing a first communication link between a communication device and a controller, second routing information for establishing a second communication link between the gateway and the controller, wherein the second routing information is correlated to the first routing information; and location data associated with the communication device. Upon receiving identification information related to the communication device, the gateway retrieves the first routing information from the database and provides the first routing information to a switch. The gateway retrieves the second routing information from the database and uses the second routing information to establish a second communication link with the controller, and the gateway retrieves the location data from the database.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/229,142 filed Sep. 16, 2005, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/729,237 filed Dec. 5, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No.6,968,044, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The number “911” is a universal emergency number for the entire UnitedStates. According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA),in year 2000, approximately 150 million calls were made to the 911emergency number. People born in the 1960s or later have grown up with911 and have had enough exposure to the 911 emergency system that it hasbecome second nature to them.

A standard emergency number such as 911 did not exist prior to 1968. Thenumber 911, however, was not selected arbitrarily. Rather, it wasselected because it is unique, short, and easy to remember. Moreimportantly, the number 911 had never been designated for an officecode, area code or service code so it was available for use as anexclusive, universal, emergency number. Once the number 911 wasselected, a department was set up by the then Bell System to develop theinfrastructure to support the 911 emergency number system.

Today in North America the number 911 is the universally dedicatedemergency number for both wireline and wireless systems. Dialing 911connects the caller with a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)attendant who then dispatches the appropriate emergency servicedepending on the nature of the emergency to the place where the call wasplaced. Emergency services include ambulance, police, fire, and/orrescue teams.

The first generation 911 emergency system was not, however, withoutproblems. One being that the PSAP position attendant dealing with nearlyhysterical people would sometimes be unable to receive all theinformation necessary for dispatching the appropriate emergency service.A piece of vital information that was often omitted by the caller wasthe location information. If the caller hung up before providing thelocation information, the PSAP attendant had no way of knowing whocalled and from where the call was made. Furthermore, without knowledgeof the originating number there was the potential for a significantlevel of false emergencies.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention include an emergency system, comprising agateway and a database in communication with the gateway. The databasecomprises first routing information for establishing a firstcommunication link between a communication device and a controller,second routing information for establishing a second communication linkbetween the gateway and the controller, wherein the second routinginformation is correlated to the first routing information; and locationdata associated with the communication device. Upon receivingidentification information related to the communication device, thegateway retrieves the first routing information from the database andprovides the first routing information to a switch. The gatewayretrieves the second routing information from the database and uses thesecond routing information to establish a second communication link withthe controller, and the gateway retrieves the location data from thedatabase.

Embodiments of the invention include a method of delivering first andsecond communications associated with an emergency call from acommunication device. The method includes receiving identificationinformation associated with a communication device at a gateway;retrieving, by the gateway, first routing information from a databasefor establishing a first communication link between the communicationdevice and a controller; retrieving, by the gateway, second routinginformation from the database for establishing a second communicationlink between the gateway and the controller, wherein the second routinginformation is correlated to the first routing information; retrieving,by the gateway, location data associated with the communication device;and wherein information transmitted via the first communication link andthe location data transmitted via the second communication link arrivesat the controller at substantially the same time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in conjunctionwith the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the main hardware components of an E911services architecture;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN) including an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)elements—Service Control Point (SCP);

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an E911 services architecture according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an E911 services architecture according toanother embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a process flow of an E911 call handling system according toone embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the presentinvention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevantfor a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating,for purposes of clarity, other elements of a communications network. Forexample, operations support systems, equipment that providesinter-office facilities, miscellaneous network elements, etc. are notdescribed herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize,however, that these and other elements may be found in a typicalcommunications network.

Various embodiments of the present invention described herein aregenerally directed to providing an E911 services architecture andmethodologies that consolidate at one location automatic numberidentification (ANI) call routing data, address location information(ALI) data, and coordinates/location data for wireless service.Accordingly, the E911 services architecture operates more efficientlythan the conventional E911 architecture, improves the probability ofhandling an emergency call in a timely manner, and reduces the overallrisk of an emergency services system failure. Various embodiments of thepresent invention also eliminate dedicated E911 trunking facilities,specialized E911 tandem switch functionality, disbursed selectiverouting databases at each of the E911 tandem switches, and thecomplexities associated with updating the selective routing databasesand the ALI database across a distributed telecommunications network. Inaddition, embodiments of the present invention provide a more efficientand cost effective operation. Embodiments of the present inventionfurther provide for simultaneous delivery, or substantially simultaneousdelivery, of the emergency call, the calling party number, and the ALIdata to the PSAP position attendant. As used herein, simultaneousdelivery of the emergency call, the calling party number, and the ALIdata to the PSAP comprises substantially simultaneous delivery via twoseparate communications links while taking into account normal networkpropagation delays.

In one general respect, an embodiment of the present invention isdirected to a telephone emergency response system that displaces theE911 tandem switches, the disbursed routing databases located at thetandem switches, the conventional ALI database platforms, and theoutdated methods for querying the databases and delivering emergencycalls and call data to the PSAPs. The ANI routing database, the ALIdatabase, and a coordinate/location database for wireless service mayreside on an “integrated” signal transfer point (STP)/service controlpoint (SCP) gateway, for example. The integrated STP/SCP gateway is anSTP (the backbone platform of the Signaling System 7 (SS7) network) thatincludes embedded SCP functionality in addition to the classic STPfunctionality. In this embodiment the local switch from which anemergency call is made recognizes the call as an E911 call, and uses thetelephone number of the caller obtained through the ANI capability ofthe local switch to launch an SS7 based query for routing instructionsto the PSAP. The integrated STP/SCP gateway receives the query, forwardsthe query to the SCP side of the platform for the routing instructions,and returns the routing instructions to the switch of origin. Usingfunctionality in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention, the integrated STP/SCP gateway simultaneously correlates theANI with the caller's ALI data, and using TCP/IP links routes the ALIdata to the PSAP to which the emergency call is being delivered. Withcoincident arrival at the PSAP of the emergency call from the switch oforigin and the ALI data from the integrated STP/SCP gateway, the calland the ALI data may be simultaneously delivered to the PSAP positionattendant answering the call.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed to atelephone emergency response system that includes the use of an AdvancedIntelligent Network (AIN) Service Control Point (SCP) configured toprovide routing instructions for the delivery of the emergency call tothe appropriate PSAP based on the point of origin of the call and toprovide the ALI data to the PSAP position attendant while the call isbeing delivered to the PSAP. Both the call routing database and the ALIdatabase may reside on the AIN SCP and, therefore, may eliminate theneed for the specialized routing functionality of an E911 tandem.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, when a 911emergency call is placed, the local switch launches a query to the “E911SCP” using the SS7 protocol. The SCP responds to the switch with therouting instructions for delivering the call to the appropriate PSAP andcorrelates the ANI with the correct ALI data. The SCP also correlatesthe PSAP ten-digit number to a PSAP IP address and then delivers boththe ALI and the ANI data to the PSAP via a TCP/IP data link, forexample. This embodiment also may support Phase II requirements forwireless emergency calls through a third coordinate routing database forrouting E911 calls dialed from a wireless device to the appropriatePSAP.

FIG. 1 is a schematic showing various hardware components of a baselineE911 services architecture 10. The services architecture 10 may include,for example, several systems or platforms and, for example, severalcapabilities or functionalities required for providing baseline E911services. The systems or platforms may include local switches 12, E911tandem switches 14, PSAP equipment 16, inter-office facilities for voicetrunking and data links 20, a selective routing database 22, and an ALIdatabase 24, for example. The capabilities or functionalities requiredinclude ANI routing functionality, E911 tandem functionality, selectivecall routing, ALI data retrieval, and call transfer, for example.

In operation, when a caller initiates an E911 call from a telephone 9through a subscriber line 13, the local switch 12 determines where itshould send the call based on the digits dialed. Then, the ANIfunctionality embedded in the local switch 12 identifies the callingparty by their ten-digit telephone number and the local switch 12 routesthe call over dedicated Multi Frequency (MF) trunks 18 to the E911tandem switch 14. The local switch 12 passes the calling party'sten-digit ANI to the E911 tandem switch 14. The E911 tandem 14 includesfunctionality to recognize the call as an emergency call, and using theten-digit ANI launches a query to the selective routing database 22,which may be integrated in the E911 tandem 14 or may be running on an aremote database engine depending upon the specific architecturalimplementation. In either case the selective routing database 22 isphysically located at the E911 tandem 14 and the information containedtherein may be used for routing the E911 call to the appropriate PSAP16. Routing is determined using an Emergency Services Number (ESN),which is a three to five digit number used to represent an emergencyservice zone. The ESN is used for E911 call routing to and betweenPSAPs. The ESN is assigned to every NPA-NXX for the subscribers in aparticular area who are provided with emergency services from a givenE911 tandem 14. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the E911tandem 14 may receive the emergency call directly from a telephone 9Athrough a subscriber line 13A.

In the event of an ANI failure such as, for example: (1) an ANI failureat the local switch 12 from which the call originated; or (2) there isno ANI information in the selective routing database 22 (3) or there isno ESN assigned to the ANI, the E911 tandem 14 routes the call to asecondary or default PSAP 21. The default PSAP 21 is used in the eventof an ANI failure because an emergency call cannot be routed to theappropriate PSAP without the proper ANI information that allows the E911tandem 14 to conduct queries for the ALI and for the routinginstructions. Without the ANI information there is no way to correlatethe ALI information to the calling party. The default PSAP 21 thusprovides a backup service so that a live attendant may process theemergency call and assist the caller.

When the ANI information is provided to the E911 tandem 14 and it isable to route the call to the primary PSAP 16, both the call and the ANIinformation are delivered to the PSAP 16 over trunks 26 connecting theE911 tandem 14 to the PSAP 16. A PSAP controller 28 then uses the ANIinformation to launch a query over dedicated 56 Kb data links 20 to theALI database 24 to retrieve the ALI data associated with a ten-digittelephone number of the PSAP 16. The ALI data is contained in ALIdatabase 24 and includes various pieces information related to theoriginating point of the emergency E911 call including, for example, theoccupant name(s), phone number, street address, nearest cross-street,and any special pre-existing conditions (i.e., hazardous material). Oncethe ALI data is retrieved, the information is delivered to the PSAPposition attendant 11 to which the call was delivered. The PSAP positionattendant 11 is located at an attendant console 19 and uses theattendant ALI terminal 17 to view the ALI data and simultaneouslycommunicates live with the caller via telephone over voice trunks. TheALI record generator 15 may be used to generate a hard copy of the ALIdata on a printer. Based on the nature of the emergency and/or theplanned dispatch of emergency services personnel, the PSAP positionattendant 11 may use call transfer functionality of the AIN to transferthe call to a police station, a fire station, etc. to dispatch theappropriate personnel to handle the emergency.

In conventional E911 services, the ALI data is provided to the E911 PSAPattendant position 11 after the PSAP attendant position 11 receives boththe call and the ANI information of the caller. This time lag existsbecause the PSAP controller 38 retrieves the ALI data from the ALIdatabase 24 after it receives the ANI information from the E911 tandem14. The time required to query and retrieve ALI data from the ALIdatabase 24 will vary depending on the specific E911 servicearchitecture 10 employed. For example, the ALI database 24 may or maynot be collocated with the PSAP 16. If the ALI database 24 is locatedremotely from a service provider's data center, queries to the database24 and data retrieved therefrom must traverse the 56 Kb data links 20,for example. Therefore, it will take longer for the ALI data to arriveat the PSAP attendant position 11 than if the ALI database 24 wascollocated with the PSAP 16.

Various embodiments of the present invention may utilize thefunctionality of intelligent communications networks, such as forexample, the AIN. The various embodiments of the present invention maycommunicate over such intelligent communications networks using avariety of signaling protocols, including, but not limited to, the SS7protocol (e.g., TCAP), TCP/IP (e.g., LDAP), and other similar protocols.A brief introductory description of one AIN environment and the SS7protocol and how they interact with a public switched telephone network(PSTN) is provided herein in conjunction with the description of FIG. 2to garner a better understanding of the various embodiments of thepresent invention. Nevertheless, those skilled in the art willappreciate, that the present invention is not limited to an AINenvironment and is not limited to communications utilizing the SS7protocol capabilities. Rather, the present invention may be practiced ina variety of operating environments including networks and systemscomprising packet-switches, servers, and modules capable of transmittingand receiving information in the form of packets between devicesinterconnected over any predetermined telecommunications network. Someexamples of such operating environments include, but are not limited to,packet-switched environments, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)environments, Ultrawideband environments, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) 30,which may be integrated with the PSTN and represents one of a variety ofembodiments and environments in which the present invention may bepracticed. AINs are generally utilized by Local Exchange Carriers (LECs)to allow the LECs to provide call processing features and services thatare not embedded within conventional switching circuits of the PSTN. Foran LEC comprising the AIN 30 illustrated in FIG. 2, the central office(CO) switches of the LEC may be provided as Service Switching Point(SSP) switches 32, which may be considered as AIN or SS7 enabledswitches. The dashed line 34 between the SSP switches 32 indicates thatthe number of SSP switches 32 for a particular LEC may vary depending onthe requirements of the AIN 30 for the LEC. Interconnecting the SSPswitches 32 are data links 36, which may be, for example, trunkcircuits.

Each SSP switch 32 has a number of subscriber lines 37 connectedthereto. The subscriber lines 37 may be, for example, conventionaltwisted pair loop circuits connected between the telephone drop for thecustomer premises and the SSP switches 32 or trunk circuits, such as T-1trunk circuits, interconnecting the customer premises and the SSPswitches 32. Generally, the number of subscriber lines 37 connected tothe SSP switch 32 is on the order of ten thousand to one hundredthousand lines. Each of the subscriber lines 37 is connected to aterminating piece of customer premises equipment, represented in FIG. 2by telephones 38. Alternatively, the terminating piece of customerpremises equipment may be, for example, a telecopier, a personalcomputer (PC), a modem, or a private branch exchange (PBX) switchingsystem.

According to the AIN 30 illustrated in FIG. 2, each SSP switch 32 isconnected to a signal transfer point (STP) 50 via links 42. The links 42also may employ, for example, an SS7 switching protocol. The STP 50 maybe a multi-port high speed packet switch that is programmed to respondto the routing information in the appropriate layer of the switchingprotocol and route the data packets to their intended destination.

The AIN 30 also may include an intelligent resource server (IRS) 60. TheIRS 60 may be, for example, a service node such as a Compact ServiceNode (CSN) available from Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J.,although the IRS 60 may be any other AIN-compliant IRS such as, forexample, an AIN/IP (Intelligent Peripheral) IRS from Nortel NetworksCorp., Montreal, Quebec. The IRS 60 also may include voice and DTMFsignal recognition devices and voice synthesis devices. The IRS 60 maybe used primarily when some enhanced feature or service is needed thatrequires an audio connection to the call such as, for example, callreturn, or when transfer of a significant amount of data to a subscriberover a switched connection during or following a call. The IRS 60 may beconnected to one or more of the SSP switches 32 via a data link 62,which may be, for example, an Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN),Primary Rate Interface (PRI), Basic Rate Interface (BRI), a T-1switching trunk circuit, and the like.

In order to keep the processing of data and calls as simple as possibleat the switches, such as at the SSP switches 32, a set of triggers aredefined at the SSP switches 32 for each call. A trigger in the AIN is anevent associated with a particular subscriber line 37 that generates adata packet to be sent from the SSP switch 32 for the particularsubscriber line 37 to, for example, the SCP 54 via the STP 50. Thetriggers may be an originating trigger for calls originating from thesubscriber premises or terminating triggers for calls terminating at thesubscriber premises. The trigger causes a message in the form of a queryto be sent, for example, from the SSP switch 32 to the SCP 54. The SCP54 in turn may interrogate the database 58 to determine whether somecustomized call feature or enhanced service should be implemented forthe particular call based on the subscriber's call management profilestored in the database 58, or whether conventional dial-up telephoneservice should be provided. The results of the database inquiry are sentback from the SCP 54 to the SSP switch 32 via the STP 50. The queryresponse message includes instructions to the SSP switch 32 as to how toprocess or route the call. The instructions may be to take some specialaction as result of a customized calling service or enhanced feature.For example, for a calling feature requiring the IRS 60 capabilities,the return instructions to the SSP switch 32 from the SCP 54 may be toroute the call to the IRS 60. In addition, the return instructions fromthe SCP 54 may simply be an indication that there is no entry in thedatabase 58 that indicates anything other than conventional telephoneservice should be provided for the call. The query message and responsemessage may be formatted, for example, according to conventional SS7TCAP (Transaction Capabilities Application Part) formats.

The AIN 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 may further include other networkelements, which are not shown in FIG. 2 for purposes of clarity. Inaddition, the AIN 30 may include additional IRSs 60. Also, the AIN 30may include one or more 5ESS Network Access Points (NAPs) incommunication with the STP 50, which may be programmed to detect thetrigger conditions, such as for example a Public Office Dialing Plan(PODP) customized feature for launching a 911 call.

With reference now to FIG. 3, one embodiment of the present inventionprovides a system 100 for managing and routing E911 emergency calls toan appropriate PSAP position attendant 11. The system 100 may includeone or more STP gateways. In one embodiment of the present invention,the STP gateways may comprise an integrated gateway having an STP/SCPgateway 102 pair. In other words, the STP 50 and the SCP 54, previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 2, may be combined as a mated redundantintegrated STP/SCP gateway 102 pair. The integrated STP/SCP gateway 102interfaces with the PSAP 104 via a network 116 using a TCP/IP networkingprotocol link 114, for example. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, for example, each integrated STP/SCP gateway 102 may compriseone or more STP/SCP gateway 102 pairs, for example. The system 100 alsomay include an SSP 32 in communication with the integrated STP/SCPgateway 102, which interfaces with the PSAP 104 through the TCP/IP link114, for example, and through trunk lines 120, for example.

Requests for routing instructions for an E911 emergency call arelaunched from the SSP 32 to the STP/SCP gateway 102 using the SS7switching protocol via SS7 links 42. The ANI associated with the E911emergency call is transferred to the STP/SCP gateway 102 from the SSP 32over the SS7 links 42.

The STP/SCP gateway 102 also may include a database 138, which maycomprise a plurality of databases residing at the integrated STP/SCPgateway 102. The system 100 also may include an end office 106 incommunication with the PSAP 104 either directly or via the SSP 32. Thesystem 100 also may include an SS7 enabled CLEC end office 108, forexample. The STP/SCP pair 102 also may communicate with the PSAP 104 viathe TCP/IP links 114 through the network 116. Furthermore, the system100 may include a mobile switching center 112 (MSC) in communicationwith the PSAP 104 via the SSP 32. The MSC 112 is a switch for providingservices and coordination between a wireless device 130 in a network andother external networks. The MSC 112 interfaces with the SSP 32 throughtrunk lines 134. An E911 emergency call from the wireless device 130 isrouted from the SSP 32 to the appropriate PSAP 104 via trunk lines 120.The MSC 112 also may communicate with the STP/SCP gateway 102 via theSS7 links 136.

The network 116 may be, for example, any connected system ofcommunication lines, channels, and radio interfaces, used to exchangeinformation between two or more devices within the network 116.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the network 116may include, for example, any packet switched network, an IP or ATM/FR(Asynchronous Transfer Mode/Frame Relay) network, a TCP/IP network,Internet or an intranet, a radio network, and any combinations thereof.In various embodiments of the present invention, the network 116 mayinclude any networks and systems comprising packet-switches, servers,and modules capable of transmitting and receiving information in theform of packets over any predetermined telecommunications network.Examples of such networks and systems include, but are not limited to,packet-switched environments, VoIP environment, WiFi environments,Bluetooth environments, Ultrawideband environments, and the like.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the network 116 may be usedto exchange information between the STP/SCP gateway 102 and the PSAP104. According to one embodiment, the STP/SCP gateway 102 and the PSAP104 may communicate via the network 116 using a TCP/IP based protocol.Furthermore, the network 116 may comprise a plurality of interconnectednetworks that enable or facilitate communication between the STP/SCPpair 102 and the PSAP 104.

Each of the various components comprising the system 100 and theirinteraction for managing the E911 emergency calls via the system 100 arenow described. Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention,the system 100 may include the end office 106 for dialing to the SSP 32and setting up a trunk between the subscriber telephone 9, 38 and theSSP 32. The end office 106 may comprise a central office switch to whichthe subscriber telephone 9 is connected via the subscriber line 13.Generally, the end office 106 may be the last central office incommunication with the subscriber's telephone 9 equipment to establish aline-to-line, line-to-trunk, or trunk-to-line connection to thetelephone 9 via the subscriber line 13. An E911 emergency call placed tothe end office 106 from telephone 9 then may be routed via trunk lines118 to the SSP 32. Once the appropriate PSAP 104 routing instructionsassociated with call's ANI are retrieved by the STP/SCP gateway 102 andare provided to the SSP 32, the call is routed to the appropriate PSAP104. Trunk lines as used herein comprise any communication lines betweenany two switching systems in a telecommunications network such as, forexample, the end office 106 and the SSP 32. An E911 emergency callreceived at the end office 106 also may be routed directly to theappropriate PSAP 104 via trunk line 122. As discussed previously withreference to FIG. 2, the subscriber telephone 38 may be connecteddirectly to the SSP 32 via the subscriber line 37.

One embodiment of the present invention may include a CLEC end office108, for example. The CLEC end office 108 competes for local exchangeservices, international communication services, Internet access, andentertainment. In some environments, a CLEC end office may buy or leaseE911 services from a telecommunications service provider (such as aregional Bell operating company (RBOC)) or may be SS7 enabled. The CLEC108 is SS7 enabled such that it is capable of and may launch its own SS7based query via the SS7 links 128 to the STP/SCP gateway 102 when itrecognizes an incoming E911 call. The CLEC 108 transmits the ANIinformation associated with the telephone number of the calling deviceto the STP/SCP gateway 102 along with query according to the SS7protocol functionality. The STP/SCP gateway 102 then provides theappropriate PSAP 104 routing instructions to the CLEC 108.

In another embodiment of the present invention, E911 emergency calls mayoriginate from a mobile, e.g., cellular, wireless device 130 via awireless communication link 132. The wireless call is then placed to theMSC 112 via the wireless link 132. The MSC 112 then launches an E911query via SS7 links 136 for the appropriate PSAP 104 routinginstructions and completes the call via any available connecting trunks.

The system 100 also may include a database 138 comprising a plurality ofdatabases residing at the integrated STP/SCP gateway 102. A firstdatabase 140 (e.g., ANI routing database) may include instructions forrouting an incoming E911 call to the appropriate PSAP 104 based on thecall's ANI information. The routing instructions may include, forexample, the PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number. The SP 32, CLEC 108and the MSC 112 transfer the ANI information using the SS 7 protocol tothe STP/SCP gateway 102 during a query. As a result of the query, thecall routing instructions are returned to the SSP 32 in a responsemessage from the STP/SCP gateway 102 such that the SSP 32 may initiate acall set-up to establish a voice communications path between the callingdevice (e.g., telephones 9, 38 or wireless device 130) and the PSAP 104.The STP/SCP gateway 102 may use the ANI information to conductadditional database 138 queries.

A second database 142 may include a PSAP 104 ten-digit telephone numberto IP address conversion table. The table may include, for example, alist of the ten-digit telephone numbers of all the PSAPs 104 distributedacross the system 100 correlated to each individual PSAP's 106 IPaddress. After the STP/SCP gateway 102 obtains the ten-digit telephonenumber of the PSAP 104 based on the ANI information from the firstdatabase 140, the STP/SCP gateway 102 queries the second database 142 toobtain the PSAP's 104 IP address. The IP address is thus correlated tothe PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number and may be used to route aTCP/IP message to the PSAP 104 via the TCP/IP link 114 over the network116.

A third database 144 may be employed to contain the ALI data correlatedto the ANI information. Once the appropriate PSAP's 104 IP address isobtained from the second database 142, the STP/SCP gateway 102 mayretrieve the call's ALI data from the third database 144. The STP/SCPgateway 102 then transmits the ALI data to the PSAP 104 via the TCP/IPlink 114 over the network 116 using the IP address obtained from thesecond database 142.

Yet a fourth coordinate routing database 146 may be employed toascertain the physical geographical location of a caller when anincoming E911 emergency call originates from a wireless device 130. Thecoordinate routing database 146 correlates the caller's coordinates(e.g., latitude, longitude, and/or cell site identifier) and routes theE911 call to the appropriate PSAP 104.

A query requesting routing instructions for a specific E911 emergencycall may be launched to the STP/SCP gateway 102 by any SS7 enabledswitch using the SS7 protocol via the SS7 links 42, 128, 136. Forexample, the query may be launched by the SSP 32 via SS7 links 42, or itmay be launched by the SS7 enabled CLEC 108 via SS7 links 128, or it maybe launched by the MSC 112 via SS7 links 136. The query is sent to theSTP/SCP gateway 102 before a voice path can be set-up between the callerand the PSAP 104. The ANI information associated with the E911 emergencycall is provided to the STP/SCP gateway 102 along with the query requestfrom the SS7 enabled switch (e.g., the SSP 32, the CLEC 108 or the MSC112). Upon receiving the SS7 query with the ANI information the STP/SCPgateway 102 issues a response to the querying device that includes theappropriate call routing instructions in order to set up the voice pathbetween the caller and the PSAP 104. The ANI information is then used bythe STP/SCP gateway 102 in order to obtain the appropriate PSAP's 104ten-digit telephone number and IP address, and the appropriate ALI datato transmit to the PSAP 104 via the TCP/IP link 114 over the network116. Accordingly, the voice signal and the ALI data will arrive at thePSAP position attendant 11 substantially simultaneously.

One example of an E911 call transaction according to one embodiment ofthe present invention will now be described with respect to an E911 calldialed from the end office 106, for example. Accordingly, an E911 callis dialed from telephone 9. Before a voice path can be set-up betweenthe telephone 9 and the PSAP 104, however, the SSP 32 recognizes thecall as an E911 call and issues a query to the STP/SCP gateway 102 toobtain the appropriate PSAP 104 routing instructions for routing thecall. The ANI information is provided to the STP/SCP gateway 102 by theSSP 32 as part of the information packet comprising the query sent tothe STP/SCP gateway 102 via the SS7 protocol. The STP/SCP gateway 102obtains the ANI information and uses it to query the first database 140to obtain the PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number based on thespecific ANI information associated with the incoming E911 query. TheSTP/SCP gateway 102 then queries the second database 142 to obtain theIP address of the appropriate PSAP 104. The IP address is correlated tothe PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number. Once the STP/SCP gateway 102obtains the PSAP's ten-digit telephone number, it retrieves theappropriate ALI data from the third database 144 and routes the ALI datato the appropriate PSAP 104 at the IP address via the TCP/IP link 114over the network 116, for example.

The STP/SCP gateway 102 sends the routing instructions comprising thePSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number from the first database 140 to theSSP 32 that launched the query in order to begin setting up the voicepath from the caller (e.g., telephones 9, 38 or wireless device 130) tothe PSAP 104. While the SSP 32 is processing the voice path set-up, theSTP/SCP gateway 102 transmits the ALI data retrieved from the thirddatabase 144 to the PSAP 104 using the IP address retrieved from thesecond database 142. The ALI data is transmitted via the TCP/IP link 114over the network 116, for example. Accordingly, it is possible for theALI data and the E911 emergency voice call to arrive at the PSAPposition attendant 11 at approximately (e.g., substantiallysimultaneously) the same time. This eliminates any lengthy delaysassociated with the conventional E911 services architecture wherein theALI data must be retrieved by the PSAP controller 28 (See FIG. 1) afterit receives the call and the ANI information.

In other embodiments of the present invention, the STP/SCP gateway 102may include the coordinate routing database 146 for routing E911 callsdialed from wireless devices 130 to the appropriate PSAP 104. The voicepath set-up and the transmission of the ALI data over the TCP/IP link114 is the same as previously described. When the wireless device 130dials 911 its coordinates (e.g., longitude, latitude, and/or cellidentifier) may be transmitted along with the call. If these coordinatesare within a range of coordinates mapped to the PSAP's 104 ten-digittelephone number, the coordinate routing database 146 routes the E911call to the STP/SCP gateway 102 and to the appropriate PSAP 104.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a system 200 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention. The system includes the elements described abovewith respect to FIG. 3 except that the system 200 includes a remote SCP54 in communication with an STP gateway 150 via the SS7 links 46 ratherthan an integrated STP/SCP gateway 102. Accordingly, in this embodimentthe STP gateway 150 and the SCP 54 are located remotely from each otherand communicate via the SS7 protocol links 46. Like the integratedSTP/SCP gateway 102, the discrete SCP 54 may communicate with theappropriate PSAP 104 through the network 116 via the TCP/IP link 114,for example. In this embodiment of the present invention the SCP 54contains the database 138, which may comprise the first, second, third,and fourth databases 140, 142, 144, 146 respectively.

As discussed previously with reference to FIG. 3, any AIN or SS7 enabledswitch, such as the end office 106, the CLEC 108, and the MSC 112 mayissue a query for the appropriate PSAP's 104 routing instructionswhenever an emergency E911 call is dialed from the telephones 9, 38 orfrom the wireless device 130. The query is directed to the STP gateway150, which in turn communicates with the SCP 54 to obtain the requestedrouting instructions. As discussed previously, the STP gateway 150receives the ANI information as part of the SS7 query from the SS7enabled switch. The STP gateway 150 provides the ANI to the SCP 54 sothat the SCP 54 can query the database 138 for the appropriate PSAP's104 ten-digit telephone number based on the ANI information. Theten-digit telephone number is mapped to the PSAP's 104 IP address. TheANI information is used to retrieve the ALI data which is thentransmitted to the appropriate PSAP 104 using the IP address.

Once the SCP 54 receives the ANI information from the STP gateway 150,the SCP 54 queries the first database 140 and retrieves the PSAP's 104ten digit telephone number based on the ANI information. Then the SCP 54queries the second database 142 to obtain the PSAP's IP address that iscorrelated to the PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number. The SCP 54obtains the PSAP's ten-digit telephone number, retrieves the appropriateALI data from the third database 144, and routes the ALI data to theappropriate PSAP 104 using the IP address via the TCP/IP link 114 overthe network 116.

After the SCP 54 retrieves the PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone numberfrom the first database 140, the associated routing instructions,comprising the PSAP's 104 ten-digit telephone number are returned to theSTP gateway 150 and to the SSP 32 that initially launched the query viathe SS7 links 42. Once the SSP 32 receives the routing instructions fromthe STP gateway 150 it may begin routing the PSAP's 104 ten-digittelephone number and begins to set-up the voice-path between theoriginating telephone 9, 38 or the wireless device 130 and theappropriate PSAP 104. As described previously with reference to FIG. 3,while the SSP 32 is setting up the voice path between the originatingtelephone 9, 38 or the wireless device 130 and the PSAP 104, the SCP 54transmits the ALI data to the PSAP 104 using the IP address via theTCP/IP link 114 over the network 116. Accordingly, the ALI data and theE911 emergency call arrive at the PSAP position attendant 11 atapproximately (e.g., substantially simultaneously) the same time, andthus eliminating any lengthy delays that may be associated with theconventional E911 services architecture.

The telecommunication service provider may maintain the database 138comprising databases 140, 142, 144, 146 described herein in connectionwith FIGS. 3 and 4. The databases 140, 142, 144, 146 containing therelevant information, described previously, may be consolidated as asingle database and may be located at one or several STP/SCP gateways102 or at the SCP 54, depending on whether the particular embodimentemploys the integrated STP/SCP gateway 102 or the remote SCP 54.Consolidation of the database 138 may reduce the total number ofdistributed databases that the telecommunication services provider hasto maintain. Locating the database 138 at the STP/SCP gateway 102 or theSCP 54 allows the telecommunication services provider to use the SS7switching protocol signaling network at a point in time when thetelephone 9, 38, or wireless device 130 dials 911.

FIG. 5 is a process flow 400 of an E911 call handling system using SS7,AIN functionalities and TCP/IP protocol links 114 according to thevarious embodiments of the present invention described with respect tothe systems 100, 200 in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively. Although theprocess flow 400 will be described with respect to the system 100illustrated in FIG. 3, the process flow may be readily adaptable to thesystem 200 illustrated in FIG. 4. Accordingly, at block 410 a centraloffice such as the end office 106, SS7 enabled CLEC 108, or MSC 112recognizes a dialed E911 telephone call and launches a query to the SSP32 switch. If the SS7 links are not present the query will be routed toan SS7 enabled switch and then a query will be launched. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that although the CLEC 108 includes SS7functionality a CLEC may or may not include such functionality withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. If the CLEC 108 is SS7enabled, then it may launch its own E911 query. At block 412, any one ofthe switches such as the end office 106, the SS7 enabled CLEC 108 or theMSC 112 may directly (has SS7 links) or indirectly (does not have SS7links) launch queries to the STP/SCP gateway pair 102 for routinginstructions to set-up the voice path between the E911 emergency calloriginating device (e.g., telephones 9, 38 or wireless device 130, andthe like) to the appropriate PSAP 104. At block 414, the STP/SCP gateway102 receives the query via SS7 links 42. The SS7 query for the routinginstructions comprises the originating calling device's ANI information.At block 416, the STP/SCP gateway 102 retrieves the PSAP's 104 ten-digittelephone number based on the ANI information from the first ANI RTEdatabase 140. At block 418, the STP/SCP gateway 102 retrieves the PSAP'sIP address that is correlated to the PSAP's ten-digit telephone numberfrom the second database 142. At block 420, the STP/SCP gateway 102retrieves the ALI data based on the ANI information from the thirddatabase 144. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that if the callhad originated from the MSC 112 wireless switch, the STP/SCP 102 gatewayreceives the coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and/or cell citeidentifier) from the wireless device 130. The STP/SCP 102 then queriesthe fourth database 146 to determine the appropriate PSAP 104 to routethe E911 calling party to based on the received coordinates.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that process flow segments 422and 424 will occur substantially simultaneously taking into accountnormal network propagation delays. Accordingly at block 426, the STP/SCPgateway 102 issues an SS7 response to the SSP 32, for example, andprovides the switch with the appropriate PSAP 104 routing instructionscomprising the PSAP's ten-digit telephone number. At block 428, the SSP32 initiates call set-up processing to the PSAP 104. At block 430 a PSTNcommunication link is established between the originating calling deviceand the PSAP 104.

Substantially simultaneously with block 426, at block 432, after thePSAP routing instructions are delivered to the SSP 32 to initiate callset-up processing, the STP/SCP gateway 102 sends a TCP/IP message to thePSAP 104 via TCP/IP link 114 over the network 116. The message includesthe ALI data based on the ANI information. At block 434, the PSAP 104maps the ANI of the inbound call to the ALI data to the PSAP's 104attendant position 11. The PSAP 104 attendant position 11 now has avoice communication link established with the party calling 911 and mayview the ALI data associated with the ANI at the PSAP 104 attendant ALIterminal 17 and may now proceed to assist the caller with the emergency.Therefore, the voice path of the E911 emergency call and the ALI dataassociated with the ANI of the call arrive at the PSAP 104 atsubstantially the same time.

Although the present invention has been described with regard to certainembodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that manymodifications and variations of the present invention may beimplemented. The foregoing description and the following claims areintended to cover all such modifications and variations. Furthermore,the components and processes disclosed are illustrative, but are notexhaustive. Other components and processes also may be used to makesystems and methods embodying the present invention.

1. An emergency system, comprising: a gateway; a database incommunication with the gateway, wherein the database comprises: firstrouting information for establishing a first communication link betweena communication device and a controller; second routing information forestablishing a second communication link between the gateway and thecontroller; and location data associated with the communication device;wherein upon receiving identification information related to thecommunication device, the gateway receives the first routing informationfor establishing the first communication link between the communicationdevice and the controller, the gateway receives the second routinginformation and uses the second routing information to establish asecond communication link with the controller, and the gateway receivesthe location data from the database.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first communication link to the controller is a voice telephonelink.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the voice telephone linkcomprises any one of a wireline and wireless voice telephone link. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein the second communication link to thecontroller is a packet data link.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein thepacket data link is a TCP/IP link.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst communication link is established over a first network and thesecond communication link is established over a second network.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the first network is a public switchedtelephone network.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the second networkis the Internet.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the database furthercomprises information for determining the location coordinates of thecommunication device, wherein the communication device is a wirelesscommunication device.
 10. A method of delivering first and secondcommunications associated with an emergency call from a communicationdevice, comprising: receiving identification information associated witha communication device at a gateway; receiving first routing informationfrom a database for establishing a first communication link between thecommunication device and a controller; receiving second routinginformation from the database for establishing a second communicationlink between the gateway and the controller; receiving location dataassociated with the communication device; and wherein informationtransmitted via the first communication link and the location datatransmitted via the second communication link arrives at the controllerat substantially the same time.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thefirst communication link to the controller is a voice telephone link.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the voice telephone link comprisesany one of a wireline and wireless voice telephone link.
 13. The methodof claim 10, wherein the second communication link comprises a packetdata link.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the packet data linkfurther comprises a TCP/IP link.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein thefirst communication link is over a first network and the secondcommunication link is over a second network.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the first communication link is over a public switched telephonenetwork.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second communicationlink is over the Internet.
 18. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising retrieving location coordinates information for determiningthe location of the communication device, wherein the communication is awireless communication device.